Dark Road
by Kashew902
Summary: Avalon fell to the Dark Sorceress. Emily fell to the dark magic. Two years later, Kara goes missing in the middle of a war. It's left up to a long-absent Adriane to save her friend. Main problem: the Web just isn't what it used to be. AU. DARK- you've been warned.
1. Prologue

**A/N: This is your second and final warning- this story is DARK. **

**At least, dark for this fandom. I mean, there's not going to be any cute fluffy animals prancing around in a sun-shiny meadow. If that's what you're looking for, then I'll see you when I write something happier. **

**I didn't really want this to be my first story, because I worry that it's going to give you the impression that I like destroying characters' lives. I don't. I love writing happy stuff. This just... isn't that happy stuff.**

**Oh well. You've been warned. In any case, enjoy the prologue!**

* * *

_You murdered your best friend. And it was easy, wasn't it? Too easy._

There was a voice in her head, and it wasn't her own.

_You say your friends want you around. But where are they now? Where were they when you needed them most? They forgot you then, and now they haven't called you in days. They lost all interest in you, you realize, after you didn't comply with their wishes._

It whispered things in her ear; bad, dark things that weighed upon her soul more and more with each passing day. It was always there, chuckling and smirking as she tried harder and harder to get rid of it; and she tried very hard. At first. Ignoring it, responding with screams and yells and taunts of her own…

_They see you as weak, you know. Your 'friends' see you as weak and helpless. They call on you when they need you, and ignore you when they don't. To them, you are like trash. Disposable._

…and finally throwing herself down the stairs in utter desperation. But through it all it stayed, omnipresent and seductive, even as she lay in her bed with a severe concussion, floating in and out of consciousness. Angering her. Frightening her.

_Do you recall how it felt to control the Web? Unlimited power at your fingertips, yours and yours alone. Wasn't it nice to have something to yourself for once?_

Corrupting her.

It wanted her to give in. To give up. To stop fighting the pull of the darkness in her soul, of the blackness in her heart, of the evil in her magic. To lose herself to the inevitable._ You were born for this,_ it would purr._ Accept your fate._

And over time, its knowledge grew. Its words changed.

_You could create worlds, you know. Safe havens for the animals in need. Areas where they could be sheltered from outside influence and easily accessed. They would be indebted to you, in awe of you… do you not want to help them?_

It slowly found all her weaknesses, the cracks in her armor, and sunk its claws deep into her mind and her heart and would not let go. Her emotions and thoughts and feelings bled like an open wound, and it feasted upon her deepest fears and her darkest desires.

_Why do you resist? There is nothing left for you here, and you have the potential to be the greatest of them all._

_Accept your fate, Emily Fletcher._Accept you fate.

And in the end, she did.

It became too much to take, the whispers and the taunts, too much to block out. She began to listen, to see the truth in the words, to hear the reason and logic in that smooth, clear voice. Where were her friends when she needed them most? Caught up in an argument, too busy to notice her. Had they called recently; come over and inquired how she was doing? No. She had spent countless hours caring for them, soothing their aches and pains and healing their injuries. Couldn't they, at least once, do the same for her?

She hated herself, truly hated herself every time she thought such selfish things, but she couldn't stop. Somehow, she just couldn't stop.

The seed of darkness had been planted, and it was growing.

* * *

She'd always thought people had their best self-realizations in front of a mirror, but all her reflection showed was that she was a pitiful excuse for a girl. Hair, scraggly and tangled from neglect, skin sallow and tear-stained, alarming bags under her eyes. She was broken, completely and utterly, and it disgusted her. Weak and ugly and helpless, that's what she was. Pathetic.

How could she have fallen so far?

The mirror was her undoing. She didn't quite notice when her reflection changed, but suddenly it was different. It was still her, but… better. Stronger. The woman she wanted to be.

This Emily radiated power and oozed confidence. Her hair floated free, glossy and vibrant, a halo of fire framing her face. Her skin was glowing and unblemished, her freckles faded until they were nearly unnoticeable. Her teeth were straight, white, and surrounded by an easy and self-assured grin. And her eyes. Two warm pools of hazel, a deeper color than her normal drab shade, and framed by long, thick lashes and perfect eyebrows. They stared into her soul, and sparkled in the light of the rainbow jewel around her neck.

She wanted to be her, that woman in the mirror. It was an all-consuming desire, thick and tangible in the air around her. She stared at her counterpart unblinkingly, mouth parted slightly as she tried to take it all in. The strength, the confidence, the beauty and power… why couldn't she have that? Why was that not her?

The reflection was moving, reaching out and pressing a strong, sure hand against the glass. She mimicked its motion unconsciously, fingers shaking.

"I…I want to be you," she whispered, cursing her voice for trembling. Her statement might have slipped out unbidden, but the words were true. She wanted it, with all her being.

Her heart skipped a few beats when that grin widened. And the voice that came out of the mirror made her forget to breathe. It was strong, warm, and seductive. Irresistible and familiar.

"And you can be," the reflection purred, holding her gaze with such intensity that she shuddered. "You just have to give in. To my power, to the dark magic.

"Accept your fate, Emily Fletcher."

The earlier apprehension, the hesitation, was gone. Her answer was the opposite of her typical, finally the right one.

"Yes."

The fingers intertwining with hers should have alarmed her, but all she felt was the sudden rush of pure power that flowed into her. It traveled from her arm to the tips of her toes, filling her entire being with complete utter bliss. Her eyes fluttered shut and she moaned, face bathed in the light of her jewel as she was pulled along a magical high unlike any she had ever experienced. It was a drug, and she couldn't get enough.

She was drowning in darkness, and it felt so good.

Why had she resisted? It was a pointless, stupid notion to run from this power, this magic. She had been afraid, weak, but no longer. From now on, she would embrace her destiny, accept her fate with open arms. She would become the dark mage, an entity to be feared.

There was no going back now. No reason or way that she'd want to, either.

There had been a voice in her head, but she'd been wrong about whose it was. Wrong to ignore it, wrong to fight it.

It had been her, all along. And as she was dragged through the mirror, into darkness, she could only form one coherent thought.

She had never been more pleased with herself in her entire life.

* * *

**A/N: WAIT WAIT WAIT! Before you scream at me; I like Emily. A lot. Please forgive me? *Dodges rotten tomatoes* GAH!**

**I got the idea for this story after finishing Full Circle. I loved the way the book ended, but there was a part of me that wanted to know what would've happened had Emily stayed dark, and it had been Adriane and Kara alone up against the bad guys. That eventually spawned this creature.**

**This, once again, is AU. Specifically, it goes AU about 3/4ths of the way through Ch. 6 of Full Circle. The actual story takes place two years later, when the mages are 16. It hasn't been a good two years for Adriane and Kara, and not in the way you'd suspect either. One more thing: this is going to be Adriane-centric, though I doubt anyone has a problem with that.**

**Now review, and rant your feelings about this chapter out at me.**


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N- Hi again. Yes, I'm still alive.**

**Okay guys, I am so so so so so so so so so so sorry. Really, truly apologetic. I meant to keep updates bi-weekly, and I guess it just got away from me. I could blame it on school and track, but in the end it was still my fault. I'm SO sorry!**

**On an entirely different note, THANK YOU to those of you who reviewed! I really appreciate all your feedback!**

** Jinora- First off, thanks for being my first reviewer and thank you for the super long review! I agree with you about people's take on Adriane and Kara's friendship. I myself have always found the Adriane-Kara dynamic very interesting. It's always fun when two people so different are such good friends. Glad you're excited for the story- I'll try to keep you interested! :)**

**Lilly P- You make a good point. This story is going to be primarily about the girls. It was actually your review that made me go back and add some Zach tidbits to this chapter. Thanks for that!**

**MistWolfKid- I'm glad your interested! And the story is going to primarily focus on Adriane; the previous chapter was to give everyone an idea of what happened to Emily. It would've been difficult to just jump straight into the story without that preface.**

**ShadowWolf- Thank you!**

**Anyways, thanks again all reviewers and everyone else who took the time to read the prologue! Here's an extra long chapter for you reading pleasure. My gift to you. Enjoy!**

**(*DISCLAIMER*)- Forgot to do this earlier. I don't own anything you recognize, whether that be Avalon characters, Skype, or anything in between. This applies for the entire story.**

* * *

Adriane hated airports. She hated the terminals, she hated the waiting, she hated the crowds, but most of all she hated the flight itself. It meant she was leaving one place, most likely for forever, and was heading to start over someplace new. Only to find herself on another plane within a matter of months, to repeat the process all over again. A vicious, unending cycle.

Today was worse, however. Infinitely worse. It was her birthday. Her 16th birthday. You're only 16 once, you know. You deserve to spend that day celebrating. At least eat some cake! But no, her present was a 13 hour plane flight, while her birthday dinner was a slimy spinach salad. And never mind a celebration, because her parents seemed to have forgotten. Again.

Adriane loved her parents, there was no question. But sometimes she wondered if it was unprompted or obligatory. Did she love them just because they were her parents? She hoped not, but she was never sure.

Their relationship was strained at best. She called them Willow and Luc, for god's sake! That could clue anyone in as to how she felt about them. She'd always suspected that they were mildly disappointed in her for her apparent lack of interest in classical art, and she had never been happy with them putting their lifestyle and passion way before their only daughter. When it came to priorities, art reigned over Adriane. She seemed far from the first though in their heads, never the first thing considered. And of course, there was the one time they had actually done something with her best interest in mind…

She growled softly, a raw feral sound, and pressed her forehead against the cool plastic of the plane's window. They'd taken her from the only home she'd ever known, from the only place she'd ever loved. Ravenswood was everything to her, even two whole years after she'd set foot in Pennsylvania. Or last seen her friends face to face. Or practiced magic during the day. Or spoken to Dreamer, or Storm…

Great, now she was all choked up. Adriane, scowling, furiously dragged her hand across her eyes, the wolf stone on her bracelet sparkling. She would not cry. She would not cry. She hadn't cried since that first plane ride out of the US, and she was not about to start now. Beside her, Luc and Willow were leaning over the tray tables in front of them, papers spread over every inch of accessible flat space. They were engaged in a heated debate over some new sculpture, from what little Adriane cared to process. They hadn't said very much to her since a little while after takeoff.

Adriane had frozen in shock when she'd first seen the destination on her plane ticket, and Luc had practically needed to drag her through the scanners. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was returning to the US. And not only to the US, the East Coast. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 120 miles from Stonehill. 120 miles from Ravenswood, Dreamer, Storm, Kara, and all the animals on the Preserve. The closest she'd be since she left. It had taken all night to get over her shock, till she'd fallen asleep from sheer exhaustion. When she'd woken up an hour or two ago, there'd been only one thought on her mind. Listen to her head, or follow her heart? Stay with her parents, or run away to home? It had scared her so much, she'd had a difficult time eating the stale breakfast muffin that was passed out to the passengers.

Could she run away? Leave a lifestyle she detested for the one she loved? She had enough money for food and bus fares, and a half an hour's web search would yield a public transportation path. But could she do that to her parents? They'd go through legal trouble, most likely, and due to that she probably wouldn't be welcome at Gran's. Kara might take her, but how long could she hide out at the Davis'? And Aldenmoor was out of question. Though it would be beyond great to finally see Drake and Zach again, Adriane refused to live like a wild child in the end. And besides, from all the little things Kara had nonchalantly said over the past year, the warrior suspected that things there and all along the Web were steadily growing worse and worse.

Of course, thinking like that quickly dragged her thoughts down a totally different path…

And she refused to consider it. Refused to think of it entirely. Emily would never allow herself to…no, not thinking. Stop thinking.

The warrior spent the rest of the flight with her headphones jammed in her ears, blasting the audio to the in-flight movie to drown out her parents' nattering. It was a horror movie, about a young accountant being haunted by a demon until she was possessed and went on a killing spree. Tears flooded her vision throughout and made it difficult to watch. She nearly cried, but not from fear. Why was life so cruel?

Happy Birthday, indeed.

* * *

They touched down in Philly to a hazy sunset, and Adriane couldn't get off the plane fast enough.

It seemed to amuse her parents to no end, and when they finally caught up with her at baggage claim, they paused in their conversation to acknowledge her. Willow gave her what was supposed to be a reassuring pat on the arm.

"Don't worry," her mother told her. "We'll be out of here soon."

Adriane raised an eyebrow, but nodded. Apparently they had caught on to her airport anxiety.

As the two fell back into their debate, Adriane studied them absently. Her parents were around the same height, five-eight, and were both wearing clothes they had bought for each other in Dubai, which was amusing to note. Willow was clearly a full-blooded Native American, from her long thick black hair to her tanned skin and features. She had red and orange paint crusted under her long nails, and was holding the thick portfolio with information on the sculpture that was the cause of so much debate. Even now she leafed through it to point something out to Luc, whose thin brows narrowed in confusion. He had the aristocratic features of a Frenchman, and a hint of the lilting accent to go with it. His thin brown hair was peppered with gray, a fact that annoyed him incessantly, and he had a mild physique. Both were in their mid-forties, Willow a few years older than Luc. They had married right out of college, from what Adriane understood, and had together traveled the world ever since.

Adriane smiled fondly at her parents, and shook her head. It was times like these, when they were so wrapped up in their own little world, that she knew for certain she loved them. But it was more the love one has at thirty, when visiting their mom and dad after months of not seeing them. She had grown up too fast, she supposed.

She had been forced to, after Emily went missing. After the very people in front of her had come and dragged her away from the only place she'd ever called home.

The smile was wiped off her face with that thought, and she blocked out the memories before they could resurface. No need for another pity party.

Taking off her backpack and leaving it at her parent's feet, Adriane shouldered her way through the people surrounding the baggage treadmill and begin to search for her family's luggage. She remembered a time, years ago, when pushing people aside would inevitably result in being told to piss off in a variety of languages and ways. She grinned. Not anymore. The average person shied away from a confrontation with the tall dark girl, even if they didn't quite understand the full cause of the intimidation. Just a warrior's magic at work.

It was disconcerting, Adriane thought after a while, how comfortable she was doing this. Standing in close, close quarters with the other weary travelers, shoulders brushing, scanning for luggage as it crawled past. Her instincts should be screaming like they used to, pushing her to get away from all these people. Not to say she still wouldn't drop anything and everything in a heartbeat to just run and run and _run_. It was just, this whole airport routine had become exactly that: routine.

That wasn't the only change the past two years had imparted upon her person either, Adriane reflected sadly. She used to smile a lot more, even before she'd made it to Ravenswood. And paint and sculpt and create, too. Now she only ever had the energy to sketch, and the pictures were always from the past. Ravenswood after sunset. The various animals of the Preserve. Aldenmoor. Dreamer and Storm, mighty and regal against the forests. Drake flying free. Zach, and that damn smile of his she couldn't ever get right. And her, Emily, and Kara, before they were torn apart.

The loss of her life and her home was always just as fresh as that day she'd left.

The warrior shook her head, long dark hair brushing against her bare forearms. The pain was constant, and she'd learned to deal. That was the saddest part.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, her magic hadn't changed much at all. Her control over it had heightened, because her only avenues for practice were late, late in the dead of the night and right under the nose of her parents. She never had the assistance of a bonded anymore either, which was more constraining than anything.

Beyond that, she suspected her magic had altered her a little as well. Subtle changes, ones that might ultimately amount to her triumph in battle. Her reflexes seemed faster, her senses sharper, her physicality stronger. This was all slightly unnerving, but Adriane couldn't find it in herself to dislike the changes. She'd promised herself that one day she'd get back to Ravenswood, and then they'd prove useful.

In the meantime, they also had their everyday uses, and Adriane was thankful as she lifted a suitcase off of the treadmill and placed it next to her in an ever-growing pile. When your life consists of traveling abroad, you find a way to accumulate a lot of large, heavy suitcases. Their little family was certainly no exception, and it took more than a few trips to get all of their luggage over to her parents. She would probably be the one dragging most of it through customs, too.

* * *

It was over an hour before everything was checked and secured, and Adriane was tempted to slam her head against a wall or two. She. Hated. Airports! When Luc and Willow agreed to let her wander off and find a proper meal, she couldn't get out of there fast enough. She was starving, and had been since she'd woken up. Speaking of sleep schedules, she was in for a sucky night since she was wide awake at 7 pm. Yay.

She had barely walked two minutes before she found a taco restaurant. Perfect.

Adriane ordered the biggest, meatiest taco they had before claiming the small two person table in the corner as her own. Her backpack went in the opposite chair, and she dug through it and extracted the case that held her laptop. Booting it up and plugging it in, she searched her options for Wi-Fi until her food was ready. She had devoured her taco and finished most of her coke before she was finally connected to a network that worked properly. She logged onto Skype and was pleased to see that one kstar was connected as well. Adriane hit the call button and waited.

It only took a few moments before her computer stopped dinging and Kara's face filled the screen. The blazing star was grinning widely at the camera as she shoved a huge pile of textbooks to her side. She was clearly in the Ravenswood Library, and Adriane's heart gave a painful twang as she saw one of the places she missed so much.

"Adriane! Thank god! Where have you been? I've been trying to contact you for forever! Everyone was super concerned, and-"

The warrior laughed as her one human friend rambled. "It's great to see you too, Kara."

"I'll say! You saved me from a mountain of homework," the blonde exclaimed, gesturing to the thick stack of books to her right. "So, did you move again? Where are you now? Wait, everybody's gonna wanna see you!" Adriane saw her friend close her eyes while the unicorn horn around her neck flared pink, but her mind was elsewhere. She was more worried about the blonde's next reaction, and justifiably so. She was in Philly. So, so close. "'Kay, they're coming. Where are you? Hang on, let me guess! France!"

"Nope, I'm-"

"Let me guess! Geez, you're always such a party pooper. Happy Birthday, by the way! Since I can't buy you anything, me and the girls ate some cake for you. Double chocolate, yum yum yum!"

Adriane was both amused and touched at the idea of Kara, Heather, Molly, and Tiffany having a party for her. Three of the four had probably had no clue what the occasion was, either.

"Well, did you save me any?"

"No, Kyle ate your piece. I think he ate Tiff's too, the brat." Kara twirled a strand of golden hair around her finger and grinned. For a fleeting moment, Adriane almost thought it looked forced. "But you're dragging me off topic. Ohh, I know, you're in England!"

"Nope."

"Canada?"

"Wrong again."

"Germany? Mexico? Spain? China? Japan? Africa? Costa Rica?"

"Kara, Africa is a continent."

"I know that! I just don't know any of the countries, silly. Poland? Australia? Brazil? Make sure you send me a postcard!"

"You won't want one. I'm in Philly."

"Nonse- PHILLY!? WHAT?!" Adriane cringed as Kara's voice, high and tinny, blasted through her speakers. The boy working the counter paused mid-sentence to give her an odd look. "You're in Philly?! As in Philadelphia? As in, the Philadelphia I'm not allowed to go shopping in ever again?!" At Adriane's nod, Kara fell back down into her chair, finally at a loss for words. "But that's…that's…it's…"

"So close?"

"Ya! You're… you're right there! That's unfair." Kara glared off into the distance, a small pout forming on her face.

"I know," Adriane told her, feeling about the same way Kara looked.

"This is not cool. You need to come see us. Like, talk to your parents or something."

"They'll just say no."

"Hey," Kara said, pointing her finger at the screen in an attempt to look stern. "You won't know if you don't try."

But Adriane knew her parents, knew exactly what they'd tell her. Previously, they had made every effort not to go back on their decision for her to leave Stonehill, and they had to have come here knowing full well that she'd ask the question. Why would they up and change their opinion now? She sighed, agreeing fully with Kara's sudden rant about parents and unfairness. When it came to being ignored by the adults in their life, they were both in the same boat.

The warrior listened with sympathy as her blonde friend vented out her frustrations with her mother to the screen. She knew how it felt. The difference between Kara and her, however, was that she'd given up trying to catch her mother's attention a long time ago.

The thought was startling. Where had that come from? Scrambling, she sought to distract herself.

Among other things, Adriane was worried about the time. According to the clock, she had less than half an hour till she needed to meet Luc and Willow at the car rental, and it was a good ways away from where she was now. She did not want to cut this conversation short. It had been a while since she'd caught Kara anywhere besides her house, so the only Ravenswood animal she'd occasionally seen in that time had been Lyra. And it wasn't like she could carry on a conversation with her, because the computer couldn't make that type of magical connection. Kara could relay her bonded cat's words, but it wasn't the same.

Adriane found her gaze drawn back to her blonde friend, who had suddenly fallen silent. The blazing star was clearly lost deep in her thoughts, because her face was unguarded and her posture tense. She was unconsciously cracking her knuckles, a habit Adriane knew Kara hated. Her gaze was distant and she was worrying her lower lip.

Kara had never said anything about it, but Adriane could see, now that she was studying her closer, that her magic had changed her over the past two years too. She'd long lost any traces of baby fat she might have had when they had originally met in the 7th grade. Adriane had first noticed her, years ago when she'd been the new kid in Stonehill, because of how stunningly pretty Kara had been. These days she seemed to blow that out of the water. She was, to put it mildly, very very beautiful. High cheekbones, flawless skin, shining blue eyes, cascading golden hair, and the list went on and on and on. She looked practically perfect. She was someone you wanted to be around, to gain the approval and appreciation of. While Adriane's magic had made her a force to be reckoned with, Kara's magic made her all the more…magnetic.

The warrior was probably the first on a very small list of people who could see the real person behind all the perfection, and right now that person looked concerned, to say the least. Something was amiss in Kara's world, and the blazing star was letting it get to her. And from Adriane's experience, it took a lot to get to Kara. The blonde appeared flustered, unsettled, and upset. Her face looked hollow, and her gaze was empty. Her normally vibrant eyes suddenly seemed duller than Adriane remembered.

Her musings were cut off when Kara suddenly cried, "There you guys are!" and in the next seconds the screen's image had changed into the elated faces of a dozen or so furry animals. They crowded the picture, leaping and climbing over each other to get a good look at the screen. Among them, Ariel, Tweek, Lyra, Dreamer, and the D-Flies pushed and shoved others out of the way. Kara's textbooks crashed to the floor, and Adriane laughed aloud as their owner followed soon after. Her speakers were filled with the loud sounds of happy animals, and she garnered more than a handful of strange looks from the taco restaurant's patrons.

Smiling and shaking her head, Adriane dug through her backpack till she found her headphones. By the time she got them equipped, the frantic noises had died down a bit and Kara, looking ruffled, had fought her way back into her chair. The warrior had to laugh at the dejected look on her friend's face. Kara hated being pushed around, figuratively and literally.

"How are you guys?" Adriane asked. Her face was starting to hurt from smiling so much.

The loud chorus of animal noises started up again, and Adriane knew they were speaking. Just knew it. And it pained her that she couldn't hear them. It hurt. It hurt so much.

Dreamer was right there, pink tongue lolling and eyes shining even as he shouldered Lyra from the picture. Adriane could almost hear the two of them, bickering pointlessly. But imagination and reality are two entirely different things, and right now she might as well have been magic-less and deaf.

It shouldn't be like this. Dreamer was her bonded, her packmate. They should never have been separated. Ever.

The pain and anger she suddenly felt convinced her. She would ask her parents if she could go to Ravenswood. Hell, she would get on her knees and beg for it. And that was taking it to the extremes. She was Packleader. Warrior Mage. And she did not submit to just anyone.

* * *

**A/N- This conversation takes place on Friday, June 7th. So if you're wondering why Kara can't just drop everything and come see Adriane (she wants to), she's still got another week of school before summer starts. Neither her parents nor her brother are going to want to drive her 120 miles to Philly when they've got to work, and besides, Kara's got a Preserve to run. Just thought I'd clear that up.**

**On another note, the next update will be sooner; you have my word. Sorry for my updating-incompetence once again.**


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N- So, I update late once again. *Facedesk* I am clearly not a punctual person when it comes to the internet.**

**On a more pleasant note, I figured out what PMing is. So I can nip my desire to respond to reviews in my author's notes in the bud. Bad news: no one reviewed. :(**

**Anyways, some of you might find this chapter uncomfortable. I did while I was writing it. But we get the first, barest tiny hints of a plot. Enjoy!**

**WARNING: Slight language in this chapter.**

* * *

"No."

"But-"

"I said no, Adriane!"

Adriane glared at her parents. Glared at them with all she had. She'd dredged up anything and everything she could think of that might convince them, and yet they remained adamant. She told them how Ravenswood was the only place she'd ever felt at home, the place she'd made her first friends, the only place where she had truly felt welcome and included. She'd been looked up to there, she'd accomplished things there, and she'd been a part of something special. Adriane was even tempted to tell her parents just how special that special was. It only showed her desperation to return to Stonehill, because revealing her magic to anyone was a big NO-NO. In caps. It just did not happen.

Adriane took a few deep breaths to calm herself down, but it didn't help. She was mad, mad, mad, and warrior magic feasted upon violent emotions. It was racing through her veins like an adrenaline rush, and a part of her- and it wasn't a small part- wanted nothing more than to lash out, to knock the block off of the two people in front of her. She closed her eyes briefly, willing the rage to go away.

It was difficult to control her temper in situations like this, but she could almost tell without looking that this time it was taking her too long. The confusion on her parents' faces over her lack of an answer was palpable. Luc was eyeing her arm with befuddlement, and Adriane realized that her wolf stone was sparking violently, and often. She crossed her arms, hiding her wrist and attempting to refocus. A thought came to her out of the blue, one she'd been stewing over for a while now, and she put all her concentration on that and voiced it aloud.

"Why?" she growled out, low, dangerous, and garbled. Luc's eyes widened and Willow took a step back. The part of Adriane that didn't relish their fear was confused for a moment, until she realized that they hadn't understood that she'd spoken. They'd thought she'd snarled at them. She might as well have too.

"Why?" she repeated. This time the word was legible, said in a clear, cold voice. The current tone surprised her more than the previous growl had.

"What do you mean, honey?" Willow spoke before Luc had a chance to, for which Adriane was thankful. He was eyeing her oddly, suspiciously, and she didn't like it.

"Why. Why can't I go home? You've never told me why." Adriane knew she sounded like a petulant child, but she continued, driving her point home. "I've accepted your words at face value, but you've never explained the reasoning behind them."

"Honey, you don't-"

"I don't what? I don't understand?! How can I, when I have no idea what I'm supposed to be understanding?!" Adriane couldn't believe these people. Was it completely beyond them to for once give her a direct, straight answer? Did they think she didn't deserve one? Hello, it was her life they had ruined!

She was yelling now, screaming at her parents with uncontrollable rage. Adriane no longer wanted to control it. These people deserved to know how completely pissed at them she was.

"You know what I don't understand?! I don't understand why you two even took me away in the first place, and for the first time did something purely with me in mind! You left a convention on a last minute flight, for god's sake! The Chardays I know would never do that, not for anything or anyone. I don't understand why you continue to drag me around the world- which I hate with every fiber of my being by the way- to places I do not want to go to and events I do not want to sit through for something I'm not even passionate about! I. Hate. It! I don't even understand why you had me in the first place, if all you're going to do is ignore me all day, every day!"

"Adriane Francesca Charday!"

But the warrior carried on, acting like her father had never even spoken. It felt good, in a way, to get all of this mess of her chest and out into the open, and she wasn't going to stop now.

"Admit it! You ignore me! You forget I'm there! Did you know it was my birthday today?!" By the looks on their faces, she could tell that they didn't. Pain slashed through her heart like a scalpel, and any anger she had let go returned violently full force. "No? Why am I not surprised?! I'm sixteen, by the way! THANKS FOR ASKING!"

Adriane stopped suddenly; clamped her jaw shut and just stood there and shook. She was angry, angrier than she'd ever been in her entire life, and she needed to stop. The two strangers in front of her didn't realize how close they were to being physically ripped apart. Oh, how she would love to rip them apart. To rush forward and tear that flesh from their bones before they had even seen her move, to clamp her jaws around their throats and-

No, now was not the time for that. Not to worry, there would be others…

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, basking momentarily in the smell of their fear. But she had a point to make. When she spoke again it was not in a scream or a snarl, but in that low controlled voice from before.

"You know what? I don't even understand why you bother. The moment I turn eighteen, I'm gone. I'm leaving. I'll hop on a plane in whatever god-forsaken country we're in at the time and return to the States, to Ravenswood. I'm going back, whether you like it or not, and there'll be nothing you can do about it. Absolutely nothing." She stopped, finally finished, anger spent.

And that was when her rationality decided to resurface.

Adriane gasped, eyes blown wide, and stumbled back a step as if she had physically been smacked. The true weight of her words- of her thoughts- hit her suddenly and all at once. She had just-she had just… No! Those were her parents! Luc and Willow! She'd spent every day with them for the past two years of her life, and numerous before that. How could she have…? No! No! She would never, ever…

Adriane sagged, defeated, thoughts rolling and whirling a mile a minute. Everything was running together in her head, and it wasn't making sense. Nothing did. Something must be wrong with her. So damn wrong…

She had to get away, far away. She couldn't look at her parents, couldn't face them; wouldn't face them. She'd said (thought) all those things, things born of anger that she couldn't believe had come out of her mouth, but she wouldn't take back because they were true, so true, and she really did feel that way, and it was too much to think about, too much to believe…

She needed to leave before her parents responded. Before they realized the weight of her words, before they saw the tears staining her cheeks. Adriane had never been one to run, but she would do it happily now.

"I'm going to bed," she mumbled, eyes down. She turned to make her way through the rental house to her temporary room, but Luc's voice stopped her cold.

"Your Grandmother called us."

What?

"Luc, I don't think we should-"

"Darling, she deserves to know." It was strange, Adriane thought with detachment, to hear such finality in her father's voice, and her mother's trembling as if she was about to cry. Willow was a strong, proud woman, much like Adriane herself. But she had to focus.

"What about Gran?" she asked, in a quiet demure voice that was so unlike her. Her question was met with silence. Dragging her hands across her face, Adriane forced herself to turn around. It was one of the most difficult things she had ever done.

She went to repeat her question, but froze when she saw both of her parents watching her. Just standing there. Luc had a hand on Willow's arm for support, and… oh god, were those tears on her mother's face? She'd actually made her mom cry. Fuck…

Luc was speaking again, eyeing his daughter warily as he led Willow to collapse on the only couch in the room. "Your Grandmother called us the night after that girl disappeared-"

"Emily," Adriane cut in sharply, voice cracking. "Her name is Emily."

"Emily," her dad agreed quietly, before eyeing her for another few silent moments. Adriane wanted to shrink away, to run and hide, but at the same time she couldn't force her gaze away from her father. The staring contest ended only when Luc looked down to the floor, sighing softly before continuing.

"The night after Emily disappeared, Nakoda called us in the middle of the night. We were worried for her wellbeing, of course, because the last time we got such a call was when…well, when we had to come and visit." Luc paused again, looked at her again. Adriane was too numb to tell him to continue.

"She was acting odd. Frantic. For the first part of that call, she wasn't making any sense. After I threatened to hang up, she said that…," he swallowed. "She said that Emily had been… taken."

Adriane's eyes snapped to her father's face, and she froze, barely able to breath. What was going on?

"She was adamant that your friend was taken, and not just missing like the internet said. And she corrected me, too, when I exclaimed my surprise about a kidnapping. Taken, she insisted, not abducted." He swallowed, running a hand through his hair. "As if there was a difference between the two."

But there was a difference, Adriane knew. She'd felt it that night. Dark magic had filled Stonehill, permeating the air, dragging her from a dream straight into a nightmare. She and Dreamer had huddled on her bed, not moving and wide awake, for the entire night. Daylight had heralded a terrified Kara, a silent Ravenswood, and no curly-haired healer.

Emily had been taken by the dark magic.

Somehow, someway, she'd been taken, and how Gran knew was beyond her.

It was then that a thought wormed its way into Adriane's head, one from that dark part of her that she should have shut down instantly but didn't. Not abducted, Luc had said. Not abducted.

An abduction is forceful, violent and aggressive, and the abduct-ee is seized against their own free will. But you can be taken somewhere quite passively by someone, and you can… you can go with them willingly…

"It was alarming news, but she wasn't done. She said… she told me…" Adriane could only stare dumbly at her father as he tried to get the words out. He was licking his lips, a nervous habit. Willow clutched at his hand tightly, and Adriane could see her white knuckles from across the room. She didn't know what to think. Had Emily gone dark on her own accord…?

"She said that Emily wouldn't be the only one to go missing. There would be another…" Luc paused, and then spat his next words out, as if they were poison. "And you."

…huh?

"She said you'd be kidnapped- God Dammit, Adriane! We don't want that to happen to you! We were frightened out of our wits! Your Grandmother was too. None of us knew what to think. I still don't!" Luc was yelling, and he never yelled. Ever. Willow was crying freely on the couch. Adriane felt like she'd been blindsided by a truck. Emily might have willingly gone dark, and now, she would too? The warrior was effectively brain-dead from shock. This couldn't be happening…

"How…," she stammered, without even knowing what she was trying to say. Willow eventually spoke up in the thick silence that followed.

"Mother just… knows these things, Adriane. She knows things beyond normal human comprehension." Her mom was still crying, voice stuffy from tears. She was clutching Luc's arm now, as he had buried his head in his hands. "She's what the natives hail as a medicine woman. She sees things, she knows things… I don't know how it works, but it scares me. It scares me so badly. And she's never wrong, that's the thing. She's never wrong…" Willow moaned, and the sound made Adriane tremble.

"She was completely convinced that if you got away from Ravenswood, you would be okay. She said that would be the best solution," Luc said quietly, clearly distraught. He raised his head to look Adriane in the eyes. "She begged us to take you back. To keep you safe. She couldn't stand the thought of anything happening to you. And neither could we. Initially, we didn't want to take you back-" Adriane opened her mouth in shock, but Luc held up his hand to stop her from saying anything. "Not because we didn't want you, or love you, but because we had seen how completely happy you were there, at Ravenswood. Happier than I've ever seen you. We didn't want to take that away from you. Wouldn't have, were the circumstances different."

"We did this to save you, Adriane. If we hadn't, I… I would have never forgiven myself." Willow managed to sob out the last part before breaking down completely. Luc drew her in to a hug for comfort, and neither of them noticed their only daughter fleeing the room for the safety of her bed.

* * *

**A/N- Please review! :)**


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N- Sorry, not a lot of action in this one guys. Though you do get a bit of backstory.**

**Thanks, BeautifulNoMatterWhat, for the reviews! I really appreciate it. :)**

**Anyways, without further ado, here's the third chapter. Enjoy!**

**WARNING: Slight language in this chapter.**

* * *

Adriane had never been one for surprises.

Or anything, really, that could sneak up from behind her and attack while she was most vulnerable. She was a warrior, after all. A fighter. She liked to actively combat anything that made to damage her. This philosophy tended to work much better when her enemy was corporal.

The conversation from the night before echoed in her ears like a gunshot. How was she even supposed to begin to deal with it?

Some people were gifted enough that they could've ignored it completely. Driven the words from their mind as if they didn't matter and then carry on with their day. Others could've spent hours forcing themselves to relive the nightmare, picking it apart slowly and slotting all the little pieces neatly together. Adriane was typically one to deal with facts on the fly, what with all the adventures she'd been thrown into. And then Emily and Kara had always been there to help her sort out the mess afterward. She'd never truly dealt with anything on her lonesome after discovering magic, now that she thought about it.

But there was no way she was talking to Kara without cleaning all of…this, up first. Otherwise, she'd probably have to explain how she went off on her parents, and she was not going to do that. No way. Adriane was, if anything, proud. She wasn't about to start going around discussing her faults, her mistakes, with anyone if she didn't have to.

In the end she was all alone, in more ways than one. She'd woken up to find a house key on the little dining room table of the rental house, with a note from her parents instructing her not to wander. She knew what they really meant. She didn't see them very much at all in the days following. They toured town, and started working on whatever convention or exhibit they were here for. Adriane couldn't bring herself to care.

She attempted the 'ignore it' tactic first. She spent the entire morning setting up the rental house's wifi, which consumed her thoughts and actions for a little while. But come lunch, with nothing to occupy her but a sandwich, Luc's voice kept trickling back into her brain and she was having a harder and harder time shutting everything out.

Adriane exercised like crazy the rest of the day, and practiced a little magic when she was sure it was safe. She was attempting to replicate functional objects with her magic, but it was extraordinarily difficult. The surfboard she'd conjured before she'd hit level 2 had stuck with her, but attempts to make more complex objects, like a bicycle, were proving futile. She actually had to visualize every single little piece if she wanted it to work properly, and that took so much energy and concentration on her part that the only time she'd succeeded in at least creating an aesthetically perfect bike she'd passed out from sheer exhaustion. She just didn't have enough power to pull off something of that magnitude.

Earth magic was easier to improve upon, and she'd come far in the two years since she'd advanced to level 2. But sometimes, when she attempted something extremely difficult, Adriane encountered, well, a block in her magic. She wouldn't be able to gather enough power to carry out her desired task. It irked her to no end.

Occasionally she wondered if the presence of Storm would help. Her first friend was her elemental paladin, after all. Mage magic was automatically amplified when worked with bonded animals or even just helpful magical creatures. Adriane figured it was safe to assume that elemental magic worked following the same basic principles, or at least in the same way as mage magic when a mage wielded it. In any case, she'd been wanting to put that question to rest for a while now. It had been so long since she'd worked magic with Storm, or Dreamer, or any of her magical friends, that she'd forgotten the feeling.

Man, she missed Storm. It hurt her to think about the beautiful silver wolf, so much so that she had just stopped. But now, so close to Ravenswood… it was kind of hard not to.

Adriane wondered if she could feel her bondeds' magic from here. They were only separated by 120 miles or so, and she could've recognized their signatures in her sleep.

Not even a year ago she had detected a colony of magical refugees hiding out in a large city park near the hotel they'd stayed in in Singapore. The creatures, most a strange hybrid between a large lizard and a colorful bird, had been hostile to her at first, only warming over after she had protected them from some sort of furry devil dog-thing that she had absolutely no desire to meet again. Adriane had to smile just thinking of them. That had been one of her favorite places to stay. She hoped Xixth and his flock were doing all right.

The idea of reaching out to Ravenswood magically was filed away for a later date. God, she missed Dreamer. And Storm. Losing her again so soon after she had just gotten her back…

A thought wormed its way into her head, unbidden. If she were to go dark, would Storm go too? Adriane gasped, humor gone, and frantically tried to shut down, but this time she just couldn't. Would Stormbringer be dragged, against her wishes, into darkness? Would Dreamer be forced as well? Or would they go willingly, bound to protect and serve Adriane even against their own free will?

"NO!" The word slipped past her lips before she could stop it, and the rock in front of her she'd been shaping into a wolf's head shattered into a million little pieces. Adriane couldn't bring herself to care.

The dark-haired girl slid to the floor, her head in her hands. She would stop thinking like this. She had to. She was never, ever going to go dark. She would fight tooth and nail for herself and her friends, she resolved, and woe be to anyone who got in her way.

Unnoticed, the wolf stone on her wrist pulsed a deep, dark gray.

* * *

Her pride kicked in that night, as she tossed and turned in her bed without sleep. She was a fighter, a leader, a protector. She was the warrior mage, packleader of Ravenswood. She did not run. That was the coward's way out. She confronted her problems, faced her fears, and never let anything stand in her way.

So that was what she did. Adriane spent the whole night and into the first light of morning going over that one conversation in her head. Picking it apart 'til it was bare and dry.

Emily was the largest roadblock. Adriane refused to believe she'd willingly gone dark. Willingly given up the love and care and concern of her friends for the unthinkable. Before, on the rare occasion that Adriane had considered which of the mages would betray them all, it had always been Kara, out of jealously and a thirst for power, or herself, in anger and a desire for revenge. Never Emily. Kind, sweet Emily who gave everyone all her heart had to offer and expected nothing in return. What lure did the darkness have for her?

Adriane forced her mind back, back to that day nearly two years ago when the three mages had stood apart on the threshold of the Gates and lost everything. Each other. Avalon. Ozzie. They'd let the Sorceress win.

Adriane remembered the horror she'd felt as everything had clicked in to place.

Something in her had broken free as she'd watched Kara kill Drake for his magic. Something hungry, beastly- evil, dark and evil. She'd turned on one of her best friends, one of her only friends, with the fury of a mistwolf and the rage of a dragon. Even now, a part of her couldn't comprehend how Kara had survived. Adriane had intended to kill her.

And then... Drake was alive, the Sorceress was there, and Adriane had doubted her blonde friend. Doubted her. The twisted once-human had offered Kara dark magic, like so many times before, and Kara had refused, like so many times before. But Adriane had doubted her. Been unsure, for a long moment, whose side Kara was going to be standing at in the next few seconds. To Adriane, that was a worse offence than trying to kill Kara; questioning her unwavering loyalty.

But that wasn't even the worst part. No, the worst part was standing there, with her arms around the blazing star, watching the Sorceress waltz through the Gates of Avalon. Feeling and realizing the impact of her words. Turning, and seeing Emily. And Ozzie.

Dead.

Remembering still made tears come to her eyes, but this time, Adriane didn't try to fight them. She instead forced herself to move on, digging through more memories, searching for an answer, any answer.

They'd fought for their friend after that. Brought her back to Ravenswood. Then Phel had appeared, and saved the healer. At least, that was what Kara and Adriane had agreed to tell Emily. The watered-down, simple truth.

They'd neglected to tell their friend exactly how she had gotten on to the Web with the unicorns after being turned at the Gates of Avalon. They didn't tell her how much damage she had caused to Ravenswood in the few minutes she'd been in control of the forest's magic. Adriane didn't tell her how she'd been prepared to fight her, to annihilate her, in order to protect the only home she'd ever had.

They couldn't, however, hide the fact that she'd killed Ozzie. Her best friend. And perhaps that had been her undoing.

Who was Adriane kidding? It had destroyed her.

The dark-haired girl winced, hugging a flimsy pillow to her chest. The weekend after that was hazy in her mind. Kara and Adriane had tried everything to reach out to Emily. That Sunday, between cleaning up Ravenswood and prepping the Manor for the upcoming graduation dance (how frivolous it all seemed now), they'd caught up to their red-headed friend and did everything they could think of to get her to come back. Talked to her in the park after breakfast. Jumped at the chance to convince her when they caught her returning books to the Ravenswood library. They'd left her alone for the afternoon, after she'd run away from Tweek's tactless pie-chart presentation, but came around to her house before dinner. Dr. Fletcher had greeted them at the door, and told the two that Emily had come home sick after lunch throwing up. Neither Kara nor Adriane saw the healer at school the next day, or the day after that. They'd resolved Tuesday night to go check up on their friend the next morning.

And then… that night happened. Dark, dark magic in Stonehill.

The next morning, their curly-haired friend was gone without a trace.

Adriane stopped her thoughts there, because letting them continue would mean reliving all the grief and pain, all the press and police, and her fucking parents suddenly showing up at her doorstep… No. No. Back to Emily.

What had gone wrong?

Okay, so maybe she and Kara could have been a bit more persistent. Maybe after Emily had left the library, they could have… what? Run after her? Repeated the same stuff to her and expected a different result? Adriane rubbed her palms into her eyes. She remembered the looks Emily had been giving her and Kara that day- hurt and pain and hopelessness all rolled into one. Tweek had thought they needed to give Emily some space. The blazing star and the warrior had agreed.

Even so, Adriane didn't think that fit. Emily had known they were there for her, always. The abandonment at the Gates was a one-time thing. Hadn't she and Kara made that clear? They weren't going to give up on Emily, ever.

That sentiment hadn't changed over the two years Adriane had been gone, either. If Emily had gone dark- and that was a big if- Adriane certainly wasn't about to believe she had done it on her own accord.

Maybe she was reading too much into Gran's words. Maybe Emily really was taken by dark magic, or a dark magic wielder. It was a more reasonable solution to what had occurred.

Adriane shuddered. Reasonable or not, it was still an awful thing to have happen. The warrior couldn't honestly say what she preferred: that Emily had been taken by the Dark Sorceress or had become a dark mage.

Move on, she told herself. She could think about Emily's disappearance all night and not arrive at a satisfying conclusion. What had Luc said next?

Oh, yes. The part where Emily's fate, whatever that was, was also going to befall her and another.

She'd just established that she didn't have a clue as to what exactly happened to Emily that night. So her own imminent future was up in the clouds, for the moment. As for the 'other' this was supposed to happen to… well, if it wasn't Kara, then Adriane would eat her foot. Or something equally unappetizing.

That left only Gran herself, the largest piece of the puzzle. Adriane's conclusion after hours of contemplation was that there as something else going on. Gran had to be hiding something. Why had she not spoken to Adriane about what she had…seen? Heard? However it worked… And then she had called Adriane's parents and begged them to take her away. That was not like Gran. Gran would never do that to her without a good reason; a really good one. Gran had seen how happy she was at Ravenswood, and had to suspect something about the magic she and her friends possessed. There had to be something Gran had left out, something that had scared her very badly… but what?

Argh, this was getting her nowhere. Adriane flopped off her small bed, and made her way over to the one window in her tiny room. It must face east, she thought drearily, because the base of the skyline was slowly taking on a healthy pink glow. Adriane tried to get the non-existent crust out of her eyes as she watched the sun rise. She needed to talk to Gran, she decided. And not in an e-mail, or a letter, or even over the phone. Face-to-face. Her head hit the side of the windowsill. Just another reason to get to Ravenswood.

Okay, action plan time. She'd sleep, for however long that took. Then she'd contact Kara and tell her…something. What did she want to tell her? Something. She'd sleep on it. Then she'd somehow get to Ravenswood.

The warrior fell back down onto her bed, intent on falling asleep now. The good thing about extraordinarily vague action plans is that they're flexible. And if she happened to sleep the whole day away, no one gave a damn.

* * *

**A/N- Please Review! :)**


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N- ...I am the laziest writer, it's me. :P**

**Thanks to my reviewers, ImaginaryFlower and ShadowWolf. I appreciate all your comments!**

**Well, I think I've kept everyone waiting long enough. So without further ado, here's chapter 4. Enjoy!**

* * *

Adriane opened the door to the tiny refrigerator in the kitchen and stared at its contents, mind elsewhere. It seemed that now since she'd taken time to think about The Conversation- as she'd dubbed it, because frankly that thing deserved capital letters- she couldn't stop thinking about it. Luc's voice swirled through her brain, repeating over and over like a broken record. The warrior had had a difficult time staying asleep, and she had finally just left her room when she couldn't take it anymore.

Digging through the fridge, which was crammed to the brim with food that hadn't been there last night, Adriane pulled out a yogurt and stood, stretching. She hoped finding a spoon wouldn't prove to be too much of a chore. Locating stuff in new places was always difficult and annoyingly tedious. Kitchens especially. Too many damn drawers.

And in fact, it took nearly a minute before Adriane had found her utensil. She slammed the small drawer shut, growling. Every thing in this god-forsaken rental place was tiny. The rooms, the furniture, her bed; everything! This house was cramped, stuffy, and it made the warrior uncomfortable. It didn't feel like home, not by a long shot.

She had to contact Kara, Adriane reminded herself, and went in search of a clock. 7 pm. Given the time, she was more likely to reach the blazing star if she called her on her cell. Even so, there was a chance her friend might be on the computer, and Adriane would prefer to Skype the blonde. See her face, make sure she was okay. Reassure herself Kara really existed, silly as it sounded.

Yogurt in hand, Adriane wandered back into her room, sat at her tiny (grrr...) desk, and booted up her computer. She occupied herself with pulling all the foil off the top of her breakfast, because the stupid stuff never came away in one piece and leaving even a little left on the rim irked her to no end. Skype finally decided to load, and Adriane found Kara's icon quickly. The blonde was on. Pleased, the dark-haired girl hit the call button, dug into the strawberries, and waited. This time Kara wasn't so quick to answer. It wasn't even her who did.

"Adriane!?" cried a surprised voice. The warrior had to do a double take at the image on the screen before she recognized it.

"Tasha?" she said incredulously. It was! She hadn't seen the Goblin Court Sorceress in forever. Her hair was a little longer and her face more angular than Adriane remembered, but it was still her friend. She appeared to be in the Ravenswood Library, which Adriane found both odd and alarming. She doubted Tasha would visit Ravenswood without reason.

"Adriane? It is you! Wow! ... How does this work?" A pair of greenish knuckles rapped on something below the camera; probably the warrior's image. "Why is Kara keeping you on her computer?"

Adriane stifled a laugh. Had no one explained Skype to Tasha? Uh-oh. "I'm not on Kara's computer," the warrior reassured her, then paused. "Wait, I kinda am, aren't I?" Okay, how was she supposed to explain the internet? It was… the internet. Crap.

Oh well. "It's good to see you, Tasha," Adriane said instead. "Is Kara around?"

"She just walked out," the goblin girl told her, hands on her hips as she eyed Kara's computer with suspicion. "She told me not to touch anything, but it was making this obnoxious dinging noise, and so I hit the keys and you appeared. Adriane, I've got to get you out of there!"

"Tasha? Tasha, who are you talking to…" a distant voice spoke up before the warrior could respond, and soon enough a frazzled-looking Kara came into view on-screen. "I said you shouldn't- Adriane! Oh, thank god it's you! I thought-"

"You get her out of there now!" Tasha cried, cutting the blonde's sentence short. Kara gave her a confused look.

"Whadaya mean?"

"You told me the warrior got taken far away, and yet this whole time you've kept her trapped on that computer! And…"

Adriane leaned back and finished her yogurt, wholly amused by the conversation and Kara getting a ridiculous chewing-out. The blonde, however, looked nowhere near in the mood to put up with Tasha's misdirected rage, and had slumped down in one of the Library's plushy chairs.

It drew the warrior's attention to her, and Adriane suddenly noticed how haggard Kara looked. Her normally glossy hair was tied back in a rather sloppy ponytail, and the loose strands and plant matter in it indicated that the blazing star had been running around in the bush. Probably in the forest near the Glade, the warrior thought, because Kara hated leaving the Preserve's trails if not for magical reasons. There were smudges of dirt on her face, and dark bags under her eyes. Adriane noted all this with growing alarm, as her friend should absolutely hate her appearance right now. She should be in an awful mood, and snapping back at Tasha rather than just sitting there.

Adriane decided to go against her decision to tell Kara about The Conversation. She looked worn down enough as it was. And suddenly Adriane's only interest was in what was going on at Ravenswood.

"Tasha." Kara's voice, tired and drawn, broke into her thoughts. "My computer works like your mirrors. It lets you see and speak to others, even if there is a long distance between you. Only difference is you can't travel through it."

"Oh," the goblin girl said quietly, a thoughtful expression on her face. Then- "Oh! Oh my gosh, Princess, I'm so sorry!" Now with her anger spent, Tasha looked horrified. "I didn't mean to-"

"Just let it go, Tash," Kara said, and the three girls were left to their own thoughts in a thick, awkward silence.

Adriane's gaze was drawn back to Kara. Whatever had the blonde so out of sorts must be worse than she'd originally thought, because her clothes looked fresh and were clean. The blazing star must have had time to go home and change. Why hadn't she taken a shower?

And her attire was worrying too, if that even made any sense. Kara had on plain blue jeans and a black running jacket. That's right- no sparkles, no bling, no color. Just drab, practical clothes. Something Adriane herself might wear if it was cold out, or if she was going on a hike, but never Kara. In fact…

Adriane was struck by a thought so odd, she had to give the scene on her monitor a double take. And then a triple. Because there was no way…

"Kara, are you wearing my clothes?"

The blazing star looked up, startled, and then glanced at the screen sheepishly. "Ya…I hope you don't mind…"

"Why?" Adriane said incredulously. Now that it'd been confirmed, that was definitely one of her old running jackets. It fit Kara differently- the blonde's shoulders were smaller and she'd actually been graced with a chest- but that was Adriane's jacket. She'd left it behind in Stonehill because she'd owned so many and her suitcase had been so small.

Now that Adriane looked closer, those were her jeans as well, weren't they?

It was disconcerting, to see Kara wearing her old clothes. And very worrying. Kara had reassured the warrior, multiple times, that she'd basically rather be caught dead before wearing Adriane's stuff. They'd use to come back from hours of trekking around in Ravenswood doing chores, and Adriane and Emily would have to listen to the blazing star whine and complain about how icky she felt. And yet she had never, not once, accepted Adriane's offer of clean clothes. What had changed?

Something had to be going on at Ravenswood, something bad. Why else would Tasha be there, or Kara still in the Manor so late on a Saturday night? And why else would Kara have suddenly raided the warrior's old closet? Adriane's thoughts whirled, concerned for her home and her friend.

"I… just haven't really had a chance to go home yet today," Kara elaborated, flashing Adriane an apologetic smile that the warrior saw straight through. "We've been busy. Your Gran offered your stuff to me when she saw the state of my outfit. My new white pants, ruined…"

Adriane didn't buy any of it for a second. "What's going on at Ravenswood, guys?" On screen, Tasha fidgeted, biting her upper lip. Kara sighed and put a hand to her head, all expression sliding abruptly off her face.

"We got attacked. This morning," the blazing star said tonelessly.

Adriane was not so emotionless.

"What!?" she screeched, suddenly furious. The Preserve had been attacked? God dammit!

"We held them off," Kara said quickly, by now knowing Adriane's temper almost as well as her own. "We held them off, and they got nothing." The blonde leaned back in her chair, rubbing her forehead slowly. "But I don't know what they were after. Or even who 'they' was, actually."

Adriane growled, hands clenched into tight fists. Her gem was sparking sporadically in response to her raging anger. Tasha was quick to jump in after Kara spoke, noticing the warrior's disposition and hoping to defuse the situation.

"That's why I'm here," the goblin girl said hastily. "I've been improving on the magical tracker that we used to find the power crystals, and using my latest model, I can track almost any magical signature across the Web. Even the smaller, more obscure signals. I mean, I'm able to track the movement of worlds and portals along the Web, or follow the movements of a specific animal throughout Aldenmoor, or-"

"Tasha," Kara and Adriane spoke at the same time. It would have been worth a grin, had the situation not been so serious.

"Right," the dark haired goblin said, eyes flicking between the two mages. She flashed Kara an apologetic smile, which the blazing star didn't seem to notice.

"Anyways, this baby-" here she patted something off-screen to her right that Adriane couldn't see, "-this baby will track literally any magical signature I lock it onto. It'll calibrate, analyze, and organize any data it gathers, and then send it to my handheld."

Tasha pulled a smartphone-sized device out of one of her robe's pockets. It was thicker than your everyday phone, and a deep shade of dark blue. There were numerous dials along the sides, and set in the center was a crystal screen. Embedded into the back of the device, from what Adriane could glimpse from the excited goblin waving it around, was some sort of grid of stones and crystals, a few of which appeared to be glowing. It even had a little retractable antenna on its top.

"From here," Tasha continued, "I can view the intricacies of the original magical signature I'm tracking, any areas it has made a prominent impact on recently, and its relative location currently in accordance to my own. I can also view any data collected by the machine in a semblance of a profile. Basically, the machine will make assumptions as to what exactly is producing the magical signature, and I can view those suppositions and its reasons for making them at my leisure. I can also add in my own facts and figures from the handheld, and those will then be added to and analyzed against any current data."

Tasha stopped, taking a few deep breaths. "It's a very technical and advanced branch of the arcane arts, and so far it's been working beautifully," she concluded with a proud smile.

Adriane was one part impressed, and two parts confused. It sounded like Tasha had created a magical trans-Web scanner. Beyond that, she was lost. And she was still completely pissed over the attack.

But Tasha wasn't done. "I used my machine to analyze the recent magical activity of Ravenswood and its protections. The results finished calibrating just a little while ago, and I've been sorting through the data ever since." She waved the blue handheld excitedly, and then returned her gaze to its face. Her fingers flew over the device as she spoke, tapping the screen and twisting the dials. "It's pretty neat. I've not only been tracking the magical signature from the attack, but also going over data on Ravenswood's magical makeup. Did you know, Adriane, that your magical signature accounts for approximately 59% of Ravenswood's magic?"

"No," the warrior said, shocked. Over half of Ravenswood's magic was her own? How was that possible? This looked like news to Kara, too.

"Huh? How? Adriane hasn't been here in two years."

"I'm not sure," Tasha responded, biting her tongue as she stared at her handheld. "Stormbringer, possibly. The warrior's, her's, and Dreamer's magical signatures are practically indistinguishable. The machine even thought you were a super-powered mistwolf, Adriane, when I first inputted my old device's data on your jewel. And then when I told it you were a mage, it thought Dreamer and Storm were the very same!

"But I'm getting off topic. Once the analysis of the magical attacker is complete, we'll be able to track it and its recent movements from anywhere on the Web. So that way, once we're out in the field, we'll have updates on its current location at all times-"

Adriane had fallen back into the same glazed over, disinterested attitude she used to have in any classroom, but that certainly snapped her out of her reverie. "Wait, what? You're going after some unknown thing that attacked Ravenswood?!"

"Yes," Kara responded, voice echoing with a strength and finality Adriane hadn't heard from her all night. "And it wasn't some 'unknown thing'. According to Tasha's doohickey, it was a mage."

"Hey! My machine is a-"

"So you're going out there blind? Leaving Ravenswood unprotected? Going up against another mage without knowing jack about them? Kara, what if it's the Sorceress?! Or the Spider Witch? Or some other dark mage, like… maybe even…"

She couldn't say it. The name caught in her throat, and she choked on it. Emily would never… would she?

"We are going, full force!" Kara screeched, catching the other two girls off guard. "I'm going, Tasha's going, Lyra, Dreamer, and the D-flys, and we've even got Zach and Drake! It's time these attacks stopped! I- we just can't take any more! We're going out there, and we're sending this guy a message: you don't mess with Ravenswood! And if this doesn't work, nothing will!" The blonde flew up out of her seat and slammed her hands on the tabletop. "Adriane, I'm done! I'm tired of sitting around here being utterly useless! I will do something, I will make a difference, and nothing's gonna stand in my way!"

Adriane watched, shocked into silence, as Kara sagged back into her chair. She may have quieted, but the warrior could still see traces of anger and rage in her face as her jewel pulsed a deep bloodred. Kara was angry at herself, not at them or anyone else. Adriane recognized it because she felt much the same way. She wanted to hop on a bus to Stonehill and help her friends, but something held her back. What it was she didn't know, but it made her wish to cream herself into a pulp for sitting on the fence when she should be acting.

"I hate this," Kara said quietly, more to herself than to anyone else. Her bright blue eyes, twisted into a fierce glare, gleamed with unshed tears. "I hate this so much. I can't protect anyone. I can't heal anyone when they're in pain. You know what I've done all day?" she asked, directing her words towards Adriane. "I've been running around for hours, cleaning and bandaging wounds. But it doesn't help. It doesn't help at all…"

Adriane couldn't feel what Kara was going through, but she could understand the cause of the anguish. Kara was the blazing star. She attracted magic, strengthened it, and boosted her friends and animals in working theirs. But with no warrior to help fight, no healer to help heal, her powers were practically useless. Sure, she had a little defensive magic of her own, a few tricks up her sleeve, but it wasn't enough. It would never be enough. She could never launch a successful assault or a brilliant counterattack without Adriane by her side. Healing was a bust without Emily to guide her magic. And forget calling upon her element. When it boiled down to it, fire was the element of destruction. Unless Kara wanted to burn down a protected forest and endanger countless animals, she was never going to release it in its full force and fury.

Adriane could understand the hopelessness, the uselessness her friend was feeling. Because she was feeling it herself.

"I should be there," she mumbled, hands gripping the edge of the desk.

"You should," Kara agreed. Adriane looked up. She hadn't meant for anyone to hear her. "You really should be here. But even though you're not, I'm sure you tried everything you possibly could. And…I can't fault you for it. I just can't."

Adriane stared into her computer screen as it projected an image from miles and miles away. What had happened to Kara? She'd suspected the blonde hadn't told her everything about the conflict going on along the Web, but she hadn't realized it had gotten to this point. The blazing star had hidden behind a façade of her old self, a girl of sparkly outfits, self-assured confidence, and a perfect smile. Nothing's that bad, she'd claimed. We're gaining the upper hand, and we'll pull through it.

But the blonde in the overly plush library chair had none of that spunk and hope. She was battle-hardened, war-torn, and reaching the breaking point. She had seen too much, experienced too much; a defeated woman in a young girl's body.

Adriane hadn't thought Kara had been lying when she'd said Gran had given her the warrior's old clothes, but now she wasn't so sure. Maybe Kara had snuck into her old room and gotten them for herself. And whatever the significance was behind the action, the warrior couldn't even began to fathom.

* * *

**A/N- Heh, Adriane has no idea ;D Anyways, please review!**


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N- Chapter 5, for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!**

* * *

Bakery channel- Flick. Hunting channel- Flick. Soap opera, adds, religious TV- flick flick flick! There was nothing on! Adriane almost chucked the remote across the room, but stopped herself just in time. No need to wake her parents.

She rolled her shoulders, trying to relax. She'd been tense and on edge for days. She channel surfed for another few minutes before settling on some old German film. Something to keep her mind working, distracted.

She hadn't heard from Kara in three days. Three whole days.

Something had gone wrong.

She knew it, deep in her gut. And even though her head told her that she was being ridiculous- this wasn't the longest period of time she hadn't been able to contact her friend- her heart insisted she was right. That she should quit being so apathetic and do something. She couldn't even get on the internet without finding herself surfing the public transportation websites, looking at routes and bus fares.

Calm down, Adriane told herself. It didn't work, as usual, but at least she had the movie to distract her after that.

* * *

_Gone to Philly Art Expo- be back around 1am._

The note was signed, hastily scribbled by her mother. Adriane yawned loudly, and then turned away from the kitchen table to find a clock with her bleary eyes. 8pm. She'd turned into somewhat of a night owl, sleeping through the day and moving around after dusk. She told herself it was the jet-lag, but really, who was she kidding? She was too cowardly to face her parents.

She'd yelled at them and questioned their love for her, and that had to sting. It was certainly hurting her, knowing that she'd said those things, been so utterly in the wrong. Though misguided, and in need of a few child care books, her parents loved her very much. She was almost more afraid of the fact that she'd lost her temper at them, wanted to grab them by the throats and-

Adriane shook her head fiercely, once again in stubborn denial. It felt too early to think about these things. She wandered over to the boxes on the counter, pulling a granola bar out of one. It'd do for breakfast. It wasn't like she was doing anything tonight.

Her feet dragged her in the direction of her computer. Adriane bit her lip, staring at the blank screen. Should she check it? ... Her fingers had already pressed the power button.

She watched impatiently as the black screen filled with color. First the computer's logo, and then the account screen, until it finally stilled on a picture of Ravenswood's forests from two and a half years ago. The sky had been cloudless, painted orange and pink and red as the sun rose, and illuminated the undisturbed blanket of fresh snow carpeting the ground and the trees and the bushes. Adriane, Gran, and a puppy Dreamer had stood side-by-side on the porch while the warrior snapped that photo and nearly a hundred others in a valiant attempt to capture the scene just right. Adriane had still been hurting from Storm's loss, but it had been Christmas Eve and the warrior remembered thinking that she couldn't have asked for a better present and that she knew then, somehow, that everything would be alright.

She'd put the best photo down as her desktop as a reminder of hope and the beauty of her home. Now, the frozen picture just seemed to mock her.

Adriane dragged the mouse down and clicked on the Skype icon. She quickly scrolled through her small contacts list and found kstar hidden in the mix.

Offline.

The warrior stared numbly at Kara's shooting star avatar. Where the hell was she?

The messages she'd sent before to her absent friend were still unanswered in the chat box.

_Hey Barbie, where've ya been? Message me when you see this. Everything went okay, right?_

_ Kara, you there?_

_ Hello?_

_ Hello?!_

_ Please tell me you've just been grounded._

_ Kara, it's been three days. You've gotta be back by now. You've gotta!_

_ Answer me, Kara!_

_ Kara?!_

Adriane clenched her fits, unclenched them; tried to disguise fear with rage. It didn't work. Her fingers flew across her laptop's keys: _Kara, talk to me, dammit._

_ You're scaring me._

She erased the last sentence; typed it again. Erased it. Sent the first bit before she changed her mind. Turned her computer off, slammed it shut and carried it to her room before she could do anything more.

Kara was fine. She had to be! Adriane's frantic mind scrambled for an explanation, but none of the flimsy reasons she came up with served to assuage her fears. The warrior growled, throwing the granola wrapper away and slamming the cabinet shut. Distraction. She needed a distraction.

She stalked over to the small living room, flopped onto the couch and turned the TV on, jabbing the power button forcefully. There had to be something good on at this time of night. Some show to distract her from- stop it!

The screen colored on the news channel. Adriane left it there. Now that she was finally (finally!) back in the US, she enjoyed knowing what was going on in the state. It seemed more relevant, almost, than any foreign newscast had ever been.

Except she couldn't focus. The newscasters' voices blurred together in her mind as she stared blankly at the screen not thinking about Kara's absence.

What could have happened to Kara? No, look, there'd been a murder in Philly. Where could she have gone, who had she been chasing? Focus on the aircraft malfunction. Was anyone else missing; Tasha, Dreamer, Zach? There'd been a drowning on the coast. Why was she still sitting here? She should have gone with her friend, now that she actually could… No! Watch the missing person's report. Watch it! What if- hold on!

Adriane's head shot up, long black hair swirling wildly, as a face filled the plasma screen. It couldn't be-

"…was last seen Saturday morning biking in to the local animal Preserve where she worked. If you have any information, any at all, please call 911 or your local authorities. Again- and we'll give you another look here- this is 16-year-old Kara Davis-"

The television screen was frozen on a large, blown-up photograph. It was of a very pretty blonde girl smiling boldly at the camera, clad in a pink tank top and sparkly shorts. The unicorn horn around her neck had been frozen in the colors of pink and gold, and the background featured the Davis' pool, bathed in a hot midday sun. Kara's blue eyes didn't seem to sparkle and shine like the rest of the picture, however. They looked dull, empty. Dead.

"- she has long blonde hair, blue eyes, is around five-eight, and was last seen wearing a tie-dye shirt and white pants. Again, if you have any information, please contact your local authorities."

The picture of Kara faded, revealing a short brunette newscaster with a grim face.

"Now, Mariette," said a deep male voice from off-screen, "The police are calling this disappearance eerily similar to one two years ago."

"Yes," the woman nodded, ready to deliver more facts. "Around two years ago, another young girl went missing out in Stonehill, 14-year-old Emily Fletcher. She would be Miss Davis' age now. The two girls even worked together at the Ravenswood Wildlife Preserve, and were reportedly good friends. The police do not think this is a coincidence. If you have information on either case, that of Kara Davis-" Kara's picture reappeared along the left half of the screen, "-or Emily Fletcher-"

Another photo appeared beside Kara's. It was of a shorter redheaded girl, grinning happily and squeezing an orange and brown ferret to her chest…

The warrior recognized that photo. She'd taken it herself.

And that was when Adriane completely lost it.

"NO!"

Her shout was explosive, too loud for normal human lungs to produce. The people down the block could probably hear her yell. If it even was a yell. It was more of a blood-thirsty rage-filled snarl, a devastated wolf's angry howl.

How could this have happened? Scratch that, how could she have let this happen? First Emily, and now Kara, and she…she had done nothing. Nothing!

She was out of her own control. She couldn't see straight, couldn't feel her arms or body. All she knew was anger; all-consuming, relentless anger- at Emily, at Kara, at her parents, at herself. Herself. She was the cause of this. She stood back and let this happen. Twice! Kara's lack of response hadn't been enough, had it? She'd needed confirmation her friend was gone to even get worked up about it. _Stupid. _Stupid!

Her thoughts rolled furiously on a vicious wave of emotion. Echoing, bombarding her subconscious. Anger. Her fault. Kara's gone- _you let it happen._ Rage and pain and regret regret regret- she'd stood by watched. _Done nothing._ Why hadn't she gone to Ravenswood?! She was a _coward. A coward…_

Her vision was clouded with an endless gray nothingness. An angry gray nothingness. She was being dragged kicking and screaming into it, down and down and down and down with nothing but her emotions to accompany her, and an endless personal mantra of you failed, you failed, you failed…

_You failed._

* * *

There is a tall girl standing in the carcass of a living room. There's something wrong with her.

Nothing immediately apparent. She is unscathed in a war zone, but that isn't it. She's wearing long shorts and a tank top. Her skin is tan. Her hair is long, black, and thick, reaching down to the center of her back. Her feet are bare. Her eyes are closed. She's trembling, violently, and just standing there. There's a bracelet on her wrist, and a stone on the bracelet. It's black.

Her fists clench. Unclench. The nails are too thick, and tipped into vicious points. Her mouth curves upwards into a smile. It's not a nice smile. Her teeth are sharp and pointed. The canines are especially long. She sniffs at the air, and then opens her eyes. They are as black as the stone on her wrist.

There is a tall girl standing in the carcass of a living room. There's something wrong with her. She's not human.

She smiles again, as if possessed, and strides across the floor. She doesn't seem to notice the gashes in the carpet. She steps over pieces of the couch as if they aren't there. Her eyes are fixed on the front door. Her gaze doesn't wander. Not to the splinters of the coffee table. Nor to the tatters that once were paintings, or to the hole torn straight through the television monitor. The remote buried inches deep in the wall is ignored.

She has a purpose. She won't be distracted from it.

She opens the front door. It slams against the wall. She doesn't hesitate. She steps over the threshold, walks down the front steps, and disappears into the night.

The Charday's rental house is quiet once again.

* * *

**A/N- Yay, we're finally getting somewhere with this story! It's only taken me, what, 15 thousand words... geez. I should be diagnosed with chronic description disorder. At least this chapter's a little shorter.**

**Damn I hate unintentional rhymes.**

**Please Review :)**


End file.
